The laws and property rights in a patriarchal society are usually gender biased, especially work and inheritance related. Given the patriarchal history, in India too traditional inheritance laws were exploitative to women. It was after independence and recently that things started to get better.
There is no uniform civil code in India, property and inheritance claims depend on the faith of the claimants. Inheritance laws for women are slightly different in each religion. In this article, we will explore women’s property rights in India.
Inheritance rights of women to ancestral property-
Under Hindu law:
Hindu law applies to Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs. Currently, the inheritance law for Hindu women is as shown below.
Daughter’s property rights
A daughter must inherit a portion of her parents’ property (from her father as well as from her mother) like her siblings. She is a co-owner of ancestral property like her brothers and has the same obligations towards said property. A married girl can claim maintenance or stay at her parents’ home if she is widowed, divorced or abandoned. Upon reaching adulthood, a girl has full rights to any property or property given to or bequeathed to her.
Wife’s property rights
Under Hindu inheritance law, a married woman has full rights to her personal property which she can sell/offer for sale/dispose at will. She is eligible for accommodation, support and maintenance from her husband and family ( the case of HUF). In the case of division of property between her husband and children, she also gets a similar share. And in the event of her husband’s death, she is entitled to the share of her husband’s property which is divided between her, her children and his mother.
Property Rights of a Mother
A mother is a Class I heir, which means she inherits an equal share of her deceased son’s estate, just like his wife and children. If the children are to be dividing the estate after the death of the father, the mother will be equally entitled to the property as her children. She is also legally entitled to housing and care from her children. She has all rights to her property and assets and may dispose of it as she sees fit. However, after her death, her property will also be inherited by all his children.
Sister’s property rights
A sister is a Class-II heir and can only claim her deceased brother’s estate if he has no first-degree heirs – mother, wife and children.
Property rights of daughter-in-law
According to the inheritance law for women in Hindu inheritance law, the rights of a daughter-in-law are very limited. The daughter-in-law has no right to the property belonging to the parent-in-law, whether ancestral or personal. She can only obtain rights to these properties through her husband’s inheritance and sharing.
Property rights of a remarried widow
A widow receives an equal share of her husband’s estate along with other Group I heirs – mother and children. In case the widow remarries, she must give up her claim to the ex-husband’s property under the Hindu Widow’s Remarriage Act 1856. But under Section 24 of the Hindu Act In the following 1956, if the widow remained single when the property distribution was discussed and married much later, she owned her share of the property.
Rights under Christian law:
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Now have a look at the inheritance law for women with reference to Christian law that applies equally to Jews and Parsis.
Daughter’s property rights
A daughter will inherit property from both parents equally with her siblings. She benefited from her parents’ protection and upkeep until marriage. After that, she was under the care of her husband. Her father remained her natural guardian until she was a minor. Once of legal age, she has full rights to her personal property.
Property Rights of a Wife
As wives, women are entitled to maintenance from husband. If husband does not provide then on this basis woman can ask for a divorce. Under Christian inheritance law, a widow is entitled to one-third of her husband’s estate while the remainder is divided equally among the deceased’s children. She gets half of the property if she has no children. The minimum amount that a woman must inherit from her deceased husband is set at INR 5,000.
Mother’s property rights
Property law for Christian women does not consider the mother as a dependent of the children. As a mother, a woman is not entitled to maintenance. But if the dead child is unmarried and has no children, the mother is entitled to a quarter of the property.
Other cases
Inheritance law for women if divorced, widowed remarried and took a second wife, is the same as the Hindu law.
Under Muslim law:
This law follows Sharia rule and has a different specification from other religions.
Daughter’s property rights
According to faith, a woman’s worth is half that of a man. Inheritance law for women here divides the daughter half of the money received by the son. But a woman has full control over her property and can dispose of it or manage/sell/donate it at will. Daughters have the right to reside in their parents’ property until marriage and after widowhood/divorce if they have no children/minor children. Once the children are old enough to take care of the mother, the mother becomes the responsibility of the children.
Property Rights of a Wife
Under women’s property law in Sharia, a married woman enjoys full ownership of her own property and other things. She is entitled to alimony from her husband, with the reasonable provisions necessary after the divorce, and entitled to a “Mehr” amount determined during the marriage. In case the husband dies and she is the only wife, she will inherit a quarter of his property, if there are no children; and one in eight, if there are children in the marriage. If the deceased husband had more than one wife, each wife’s inheritance would decrease even more – say one-sixteenth. In the absence of other shareholders, the husband’s will can increase the wife’s inheritance to some extent. Under Islamic law, a second wife is a legal wife and has the same rights as a first or third wife.
Mother’s property rights
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The widow or divorced mother is legally entitled to claim maintenance from the children and inherits one-sixth of the deceased child’s estate. Her private property is divided according to the guidelines of Islamic law.
NOTE– The above article is only for general information. For better understanding of intricate inheritance rights, please refer to a legal professional.